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The Indigenous senator who confronted King Charles has spoken out to explain why she shouted at him after his parliamentary adress.
Senator Lidia Thorpe told the monarch “you are not my king” and demanded a treaty between Australia‘s First Nations and its government on Monday.
Ms Thorpe, an Indigenous woman from Victoria, has long advocated for a treaty between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to recognise their autonomy and set right historical wrongs.
The independent politician has now said that as current King, Charles should “answer for” the “thousands of massacre sites” in Australia.
She told Sky News hours after her appearance at parliament: “We have our bones and our skulls still in his possession - or in his family’s possession. We want that back.
“We want our land back and we want your King to take some leadership and sit at the table and discuss a treaty with us.”
Charles and Camilla have faced low-key protests during their tour of Australia from supporters of First Nations resistance to colonisation, who have been displaying a banner with the word "decolonise" at a number of events.
Key Points
- King Charles confronted by Australian senator after landmark speech
- Charles and Camilla continue tour after being confronted at parliamentary address
- Lidia Thorpe says royal family still has Indigenous ‘bones and skulls'
Senator Lidia Thorpe shares beheaded King Charles cartoon on Instagram after monarchy heckle
An Australian senator who confronted King Charles in parliament has shared a cartoon showing the monarch beheaded on social media.
Lidia Thorpe, 51, an outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights, shouted at the King in a fiery address during his royal reception in Great Hall of Parliament House on Monday.
She approached the stage shouting “you are not my king” and accusing the King of “committing genocide against our people”, as she urged him to negotiate treaty between Australia‘s First Nations and its government.
After her protest, the independent politician took to social media to further reiterate her position, sharing a cartoon showing a beheaded King Charles to her Instagram story.
The original post, shared by artist Matt Chun, was captioned with Thorpe’s words she directed at the King earlier on Monday: “You are not our king. You are not sovereign.”
Read the full story here:
Senator Lidia Thorpe shares beheaded King Charles cartoon on Instagram after heckle
Indigenous politician shouted at the King in a fiery speech as he visited the Australian parliament
Athena Stavrou22 October 2024 04:00 1729560600Voices: It takes more than an angry Aussie heckler to ruffle King Charles’s feathers…
During his tour of Australia, the King has found himself a lightning rod for republican protests, which was to have been anticipated – but might it have been dealt with more deftly by his handlers, asks Hugo Vickers:
It takes more than an angry Aussie heckler to ruffle King Charles’s feathers…
During his tour of Australia, the King has found himself a lightning rod for republican protests, which was to have been anticipated – but might it have been dealt with more deftly by his handlers, asks Hugo Vickers
Athena Stavrou22 October 2024 02:30 1729551660Watch: Prince William reveals crucial parenting motto during community football visit
Lidia Thorpe says royal family still has Indigenous ‘bones and skulls’
The Indigenous senator who confronted King Charles has spoken out once more to claim that the “bones and skulls” of Aboriginal people are still in possession of the royal family.
She told Sky News hours after her appearance at parliament: “We have our bones and our skulls still in his possession, or in his family’s possession. We want that back.
“We want our land back and we want your King to take some leadership and sit at the table and discuss a treaty with us.”
Athena Stavrou21 October 2024 22:30 1729540804Who is the Australian senator who confronted King Charles?
Australian senator Lidia Thorpe has made headlines around the world after denouncing King Charles following his Parliament House reception speech.
Ms Thorpe, an Indigenous woman from Victoria, has long advocated for a treaty between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians to recognise their autonomy and set right historical wrongs.
Ms Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung mother, grandmother, is a well-known activist for Indigenous causes. Her recent actions, however, have been described as her most high-profile protest to date.
She became the first Indigenous woman to be elected to the Victorian state parliament with Green Party in 2017. While her seat was subsequently lost in 2018, she was preselected to be a senator for the party in the federal government in 2020.
At the time of her swearing into parliament in 2020, she raised her hand in a black power salute. She did so while wearing a traditional possum-skin cloak and holding an Aboriginal message stick.
The stick was covered in 441 marks to represent the deaths of Aboriginal people known to have died following the 1991 royal commission into deaths in custody.
She protested again in 2022 upon her re-election, describing the late Queen Elizabeth II “the colonising Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” in her oath. Ms Thorpe was then forced to recite her oath again using the correct words.
The causes championed by Ms Thorpe on behalf of Indigenous Australians include the reform of the prison and justice systems, environmental issues and land rights.
Full story: King Charles heckled by Australian senator shouting ‘you are not my king’
King Charles‘s landmark address to Australia’s Parliament House on Monday was disrupted by a protesting Indigenous senator shouting “you are not my king” and accusing him of “committ[ing] genocide against our people”.
The King and Queen Camilla are on a five-day tour of Australia and Charles addressed the Great Hall of Parliament House on Monday in one of the most important engagements of his first visit to the country as monarch.
As he finished his speech, senator Lidia Thorpe approached the stage and shouted for around 30 seconds, saying “this is not your country”.
“You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people,” said Ms Thrope, an outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights.
Read the full story below:
King Charles heckled by Australian senator shouting ‘you are not my king’
Charles, on a five-day visit to Australia, sees landmark speech to parliament disrupted by Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe
Athena Stavrou21 October 2024 19:30 1729530004Watch moment King Charles heckled by Australian senator Lidia Thorpe: ‘You are not my King’
This is the moment senator Lidia Thorpe heckles King Charles during a reception in Australia’s parliament.
The monarch had just finished addressing lawmakers in Canberra on Monday when Ms Thorpe shouted “This is not your land. You are not my King.”
She continued raising her voice in protest, saying “Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us! Our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people.
“You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty!”
Security stopped Ms Thorpe from getting close and ushered her out of the chamber as the King turned to talk to prime minister Anthony Albanese.
Who is the Indigenous Australian MP who accused King Charles of genocide on royal tour?
Lidia Thorpe: Who is the Indigenous Australian MP who shouted at King Charles?
‘Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people’, she shouted
Alexander Butler21 October 2024 17:30 1729526563Prime minister praises King’s ‘fantastic’ work in Australia despite cancer
The British prime minister has praised the King’s “fantastic” work during his Australia tour despite facing cancer.
Sir Keir Starmer made the comments after Charles was berated by Australian senator Lidia Thorpe, who accused the King of “genocide” against her nation’s indigenous people.
“I think the King is doing a fantastic job, an incredible ambassador, not just for our country, but across the Commonwealth,” Sir Keir said on Monday.
“We should remember in the context of health, that he is out there doing his public service notwithstanding, you know, the health challenges he himself has had - so I think he’s doing a great job,” he added.
Today in pictures: Charles and Camilla’s visit to Canberra
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